Worldshare
Education, Opportunity
Location: Chatswood, Australia / Bulambuli District, Uganda
Sponsor: Gerald Thomas and Jeff Brown
WorldShare: Grantee in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022-23
WorldShare, located in Australia, is a partnership-based overseas aid and development organization. WorldShare partners with local organizations who are working in the most impoverished parts of the world, where there is no safety net for the poor who are often outcast and forgotten.
Wakisa, one of WorldShare’s partner organizations, provides holistic care for girls who have experienced sexual exploitation and pregnancy by providing temporary accommodation, medical care, foster care, counseling, family reconciliation, and adoption services for the girls while they concurrently go through vocational skills training. Wakisa aims to reintegrate young teenage mothers back into society by providing them with the skills and resources they need to become financially independent.
Beginning in 2020 WorldShare supported another local partner in Uganda, CFM (Christian Fellowship Ministries), as they work with the Mafudu community to address the underlying causes of poverty in the area through better food security, increased income, and better conservation of the environment. This is a community-led project and the CFM team has worked extensively with the Mafudu community to identify current issues in the community and to design the project to cater to the strengths of the community.
For more information, see:https://worldshare.org.au/get-to-know-us/where-we-partner/uganda-wakisa-ministries/
GRANT SUMMARY AND PURPOSE
2019: $25,000 will help fund the construction of a new Vocational Training Centre as part of a wider construction plan. The VTC will equip teenage mothers and other young women from the wider community with skills that enable financial independence. Skills include sewing, cooking, crafts such as making jewelry, Christmas ornaments and stationery, candle and soap making, all of which are in high demand. The skills, in turn, promote self-leadership and encourage the girls to lead by example in their communities. Mentoring is also provided in life skills and leadership skills, as well as guiding girls through the process of establishing a self-sustaining business in their chosen vocational trade.
2020: $30,000 to provide quality seeds and crop management instruction; form village savings and loan associations to teach record keeping, money management, and farming business skills; and establish school environmental clubs and furnish fruit tree seedlings to engage students more directly in their education, care for the environment and importance of food diversity.
2021: $30,000 to expand the pilot program in Uganda to focus on an additional cohort of the poorest farmers by renting land to augment their small holdings, providing hands-on learning and demonstration farms, procuring improved seeds, and supporting the adoption of two planting seasons.
2022-23: $30,000 to direct proven practices to subsistence farming families in the community of Bunambutye. The grant will support the integration of WorldShare’s proven agricultural methods, Village Savings and Loans, and agroforestry into a community program that also includes health and education. Goals are an increase in crop yields and income by 65% and in savings by 80%. In addition, a grant of $2,883 in unrestricted funding has been awarded to support this mission.
IMPACT
Enable Wakisa to significantly increase the number of teenage mothers and young women who are provided with vocational and leadership skills to increase their employability and promote financial independence. Enable farmers in Mafudu to improve their crop yields and increase the food security of their families.
